I bought this book as a birthday present for my 6 year son. We read it everynight and he seems to really enjoy it. It inspires lots of questions from him.

This is a wonderful Bible storybook for kids. It literally does bring you back to Jesus in every story. I read it to my great-nephews whenever they are over. They love to look at the pictures and pick out a story and when we get to the end they now know that whatever story it is it will bring us back to Jesus. We are able to talk about Him and how much He loves them. I recommend it for all. I purchased two for our church preschool department.

My daughter received this book as a gift. She is 5 years old and after reading her the first story, she wants one every morning before school and every night before bed. It has wonderful bible stories that are told in a way that fun and easy for kids to understand. The illustrations are very colorful.

We were looking for a Bible for our five year old daughter. She had outgrown the Rhyme Bibles and other baby-ish Bibles, but she wasn't ready for the full-blown NIV or NLT. This Bible fills an important niche in between.

The text is not transliterated but paraphrased. Very well written. Grace-centered. Christ-centered. And it gives young and old alike the central message of the Bible.

A fantastic walk-through-the-Bible for young kids. Gives young kids a feel for the important events/stories in Biblical history starting at the beginning but most importantly each focuses on the coming need of the Savior instead of a story just being a story. Excellent way to show how it all ties in and explain what we need and why we need HIM!

The Jesus Storybook Bible has four very attractive characteristics:
1. The author shows how every Old Testament story foreshadows the coming of Jesus to rescue his people. Every Bible story "whispers his name." Jesus is the piece that makes all the other pieces of the Bible story puzzle fit together.
2. The main theme of the story is "God's Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever, Love."
3. The stories are written in very understandable language for children ages four and up.
4. The illustrations are outstanding. Kids and adults will love them. The individual who recommended this book to me said his two-year old was attracted by the illustrations.

The best children's Bible that I have ever seen. Great illustrations...but more than that, a clear explanation of God's redemptive plan to save us through Jesus Christ. Most children's curriculum and books focus on moralism. This focuses on Jesus Christ.

My 3 year old brings this everywhere...and now her Sunday School teacher uses her Bible EVERY SUNDAY!

Each family must own this...even if your children are grown.

I love this Bible! I'd heard about it from several friends so I finally purchased it. My daughter is a bit young (18 mo) to sit and really comprehend, but I love it still! When it arrived, I sat and read it out loud for a half hour while she played. I was brought to tears several times. Every story truly does, "whisper His name".

Great book! My husband and I love reading it as well as our grandchildren!

I picked this Bible up at [...] because I have a hard time getting excited about reading the bible. I lead a growth group at my church this spring using a DVD series my pastors did on Character. In one of the lessons, Rob McKenna was talking about discipline and how he struggled with reading his own bible daily. He said that one thing he does to get excited about reading his bible, is by reading to his kids from their children's bible,and then he goes and reads his bible to find out more of the story.
Taking his advice I picked up this bible and I love it. It is exactly what the bible is about, God's great plan for rescuing us, that started at the very beginning. Today I was reading the story of Jesus dying and the words were so simple yet so powerful I got tears in my eyes.
As for the illustrations, I love them. They are whimsical and child-like, exactly the kind of faith Jesus calls his followers to have, yet only little kids seem to have. How can you not laugh at the picture of Jesus and Saten (as a snake) faceing off. Jesus looks slightly pissed. I also appreciate that his hair is messed up. Let's face it, most pictures of Jesus his hair looks like he's just walked out of fancy hair salon. Nary a hair out of place. I don't think Jesus looked perfect. In these pictures he actually looks like he's travel worn.
I love this bible storybook. I am hoping to pick one up for my best friend's son. He is 5 and asked Jesus into his heart last fall. I've been wanting to get him something to celebrate and now I know what it is.

My son who is 3 actually sits still to hear the whole story each night and then repeats it to his mom. But the illustrations are a little strange at times, too abstract for a concrete thinking child. What I like the most about this book is that each story ends by pointing to Jesus Christ.

This book is so awesome! I love reading it as much as my 2.5 year old daughter likes me reading it to her. It's so well written and enjoyable. I'm learning little things I didn't even know too!

Lloyd-Jones gives a fresh view of Bible stories we traditionally tell our children. As an adult, I've told and retold the stories giving little thought to the connection Jesus has to every book of the Bible. Lloyd-Jones' text and Jago's illustrations help remind me of the amazing work of a Father who has loved each of us from the beginning of time. The writing is clear and easy to read (especially aloud to children) and the illustrations beautifully support the text. This is a book that anyone will love--young and old alike. A must have for everyone's library!

My 4-yr old loves this Bible b/c the illustration is so beautiful and I love it b/c it is so descriptive and written so colorfully that she remembers the stories so well. Out of her entire bookshelf she chooses this book 2 or 3 times a week to read at night.

I bought this book for my 4-year-old daughter after hearing the author read an excerpt on FamilyLife Radio. I was mesmerized by her British accent, and my daughter's first Bible was starting to fall apart. The whole family loves the Jesus Storybook Bible. Each story is thoughtfully told with explanations little ones can understand. My daughter's favorite story at the moment is "The Sun Stops Shining," which is the account of Jesus's crucifixion. When the soldiers mocked Jesus, saying he could climb down from the cross, the story says, "And of course they were right. Jesus could have just climbed down. Actually, he could have just said a word and made it all stop. Like when he healed that little girl. And stilled the storm. And fed 5,000 people. But Jesus stayed. You see, they didn't understand. It wasn't the nails that kept Jesus there. It was love." Add the charming, colorful illustrations, and this is truly a winner of a book.

I am so excited about The Jesus Storybook Bible. I understand that at least one of the reviewers was a little disappointed at some of the inaccuracies in the text, and I understand that viewpoint; however, as a "big picture" purchase, I think this is one of the best children's Bibles on the market.

So few people can manage to take Bible stories and share them in a way that is both interesting and understandable to children. They don't get nuances that we, as adults, may understand (In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God--try explaining this to a 3 year old and getting them to follow you). What the Jesus Storybook Bible enables many to do is show children that Jesus is not a "Plan B" in God's book. He was always part of the plan to save the world from sin.

The inaccuracies pointed to by earlier reviewers can be overlooked (in my humble opinion) due to the fact that Lloyd-Jones really tries to focus on Jesus' role overall. She is not shy about pointing to Him in each and every story...and, again in my humble opinion, is pretty clear about Jesus as the only Salvation for mankind.

On a side note, I really enjoyed the illustrations. I thought they were beautiful, captivating depictions of Bible stories. Frankly, most of the children who have read this book with me think it's perfectly plausible that the ark came to rest on top of a pointed mountain (and why couldn't that happen??). A Sunday School teacher in my church actually painted some of the pictures on a wall in his room because his kids enjoyed them so much. And, allow me to say, I am SO excited that Jesus is not a blond-haired, blue-eyed, Aryan in this book!!!

To sum it up, if you have young children and you are trying to stress the importance of Jesus and the fact that He was God's plan from the very beginning, this is a great addition to your library. It is also a helpful resource for older people (teenagers and up) who have not been in church from birth (and who may have reading difficulties, etc.). It's a way to get them started on the beautiful fact that it all points to Christ.

It's the big-picture view of the Bible. Perfect for children 6+. Not meant for toddlers, or as a "Baby's First."

Both my husband and I love this Bible for our two year old. We had tried several but was disappointed with the theology. This Bible is right on track regarding sin and God's unconditional love. Not to mention that the artwork is inspiring yet simple. I'm encouraged in my faith just by reading this to my son. I can't wait to read it to my other son who is only 2 months. And I've been buying this Bible for all of my friends kids and my nieces and nephews. I would recommend this as a must have for any child.

As a rule, I don't like Bible storybooks. Usually they're so watered down and fluffy that they're pretty useless for actually teaching children about God and his plan for Christ and his people. So when I saw a review of this book that talked about it being a book that doesn't shirk on theology, I was intrigued. After reading the story of Adam and Eve and the fall via a link to the book, I was in tears. It was the most touching, inspiring telling of the story I'd ever read -- for adults or children. I immediately ordered two copies: one for us, and one for my younger children's best friend.

The entire book is incredible. It takes major stories from the Bible -- including ones not normally included in children's books like the Tower of Babel -- and show how everything ties back to God's plan to redeem his people through Christ. Every story works as a stand-alone, but it's better read through from beginning to end as they all build on one another, continually pointing to Christ and God's redemptive plan.

In addition, the illustrations are stunning. I've never seen any of this illustrator's other books, but I plan to find some. The way he chose to represent some of the stories -- including making you turn the book "long-ways" to visually show how tall the Tower of Babel was -- is ingenious.

I plan to buy MORE copies of this book to give away, and I talk it up to people all the time. If I could give it six stars, I would.

I agree with the commenters who said the stories are too wordy and the pictures need improvement, but my greatest concern relates to the sloppy paraphrasing of our Lord's words. In many cases, the changes are significant and change the meaning of the original text.

For example, the Great Commission: "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. ..." Matthew 28:18-20a (NIV)

Compare that to the paraphrase from the Jesus Storybook Bible: "Go everywhere and tell everyone the happy news!"

By leaving baptism out of the paraphrase, the author removes one of the clearest references of our Lord instituting the sacrament of Holy Baptism. To reduce the Great Commission from preaching and baptizing to preaching alone is unacceptable.

Another example of this occurs when our Lord institutes Holy Communion.

From Matthew: "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matthew 26:26-28 (NIV)

or from Luke: "And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." Luke 22:19-20 (NIV)

Compare that with the paraphrase from the Jesus Storybook Bible: "My body is like this bread. It will break." Jesus told them. "This cup of wine is like my blood. It will pour out."

In none of the gospel accounts does our Lord say his body is "like" the bread. He say "this is my body." Nor does he say the wine is "like" his blood. Again, this loose paraphrase changes the meaning in significant ways.

There are more examples of this. I have cited two that seemed particularly troubling to me.

I recommend instead The Big Picture Story Bible. I bought both. I will be returning the Jesus Storybook Bible and keeping the Big Picture Storybook Bible.

This is an attractive Children's Bible story book with colorful,imaginative illustrations. Best of all, the book tells the stories of the Bible as one "big" story of God's Redemptive Plan through-out history; SO, from the very first incident of the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, God promises the "Rescuer" to come. Every subsequent story looks forward to this One who will come. [thankfully, making almost impossible to turn the events into little "moralizing stories" or simply examples to emulate.] We've needed this book---thank-you, Sally Lloyd-Jones. (I've gotten several to give as gifts as well as my own to read to children)

My mother heard about this children's Bible through Community Bible Study (CBS) where she is a core leader. She immediately purchased several copies. Since we received our copy from her, my 5 year old daughter and I have read at least one chapter a night most nights and are currently on our fourth reading. She begs and has actually cried when I've had to tell her it is too late and she needs to get to sleep (but I usually give in! How can you refuse a child wanting to hear the Bible?). When given a choice when we only have time for a short story, she will almost always choose Sally Lloyd Jones' The Jesus Storybook Bible. The most beautiful thing is that she knows the stories and understands that Jesus is indeed the main subject of the book and it has really helped her learn that Jesus is everywhere! Now my almost two year old wants to join us as he goes and points to the Bible whenever he sees it! What an immense blessing this book is to my children- and me!!!!

Teaches children God's plan to send Jesus, our Savior, in each of the Bible stories. My kids have heard a lot of Bible stories from many different children's Bibles and we definetely LOVe this version.

This book was a gift for my children from my brother-in-law, a reformed pastor, and had come highly recommended by friends (including as a "favorite book" by friends who I trust on biblical matters on facebook, etc.) I could not have been more disappointed. The stories too long and way too wordy to capture the attention and spiritual imagination of the pre-schoolers to whom it is targeted. It takes great liberties with the biblical texts in ways that are unhelpful in instilling the truth of the Scriptures in their young and malleable minds. I would never want to teach my children to pray the Lord's prayer in any way other than using the biblical text. What is so hard about saying "Our Father" that Ms. Lloyd-Jones had to water it down to "Daddy".

The book also goes to great pains to spell out the meaning of the biblical text, not always accurately and certainly without any room for the nuance that is contained in the text. This is also not how I want my children to learn to read and meditate on the Scriptures.

We worked through this book one story at a time. It was painful, but given the endorsements I wanted to give it a chance. I'm far from being a hard-core literalist (see above), but the liberties taken with the text and the hammer over your head approach to some of the stories was just way too much for me. I couldn't wait to put this one away and return to the very excellent Read and Learn Bible produced by the American Bible Society.

This bible is so great! I love how each story is so descriptive and forshadows the coming of Christ. There are so many times that I get emotional, just reading the words aloud to my son. We were given a few different bibles at his Baby Shower, but most just seemed to really water down the stories- we LOVE this bible and the way it teaches our son about God.

This is a beautifully illustrated book. It brings thoughts of Christ into every story....even into the Old Testament. It attempts to teach children that God has always had a plan for His people, that the Bible is not just a book of stories about people, .....but about a loving God that has a plan for each of us.

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

This book is wonderful! It does a very nice job of capturing the overview of the Scriptures and delivering it in ways a child can grasp. It has been an answer to prayer for me that God would help me to share with my child of His glory and His word. This book is a great means of Christ-centered interaction with my child. I want to get this book for all my friends with small children. Jesus said "let the little children come to me." This is a great way for them to do just that.

I absolutely loved reading through this with my children (ages 7 and 5). I cried through much of it--it's such an intimate portrayal of God's love for us and his plan to save us through Jesus' life and death. I've read many children's Bibles with my children and this was my favorite. They loved it too. I think it's great for young children and even older children to read on their own.

I love this book. I, mean, you can't help but adore the simplistic and humorous style the author conveys in teaching the young and old alike of the long ago events from the old and new testaments. The author relates each story from a childs perpective, the Jesus Storybook Bible is for ages 4 & up. However, I find it extremely beneficial to those of us adults who need to brush up on our biblical knowledge. My daughter and I have "reading time" four nights a week,(I'm pushing for five) which she reads stories from this book. One particular favorite was "Daniel and the Scary Sleepover" very cute, I've never heard Daniel being tossed into the Lion's Den described so gently before. I think the author Sally Lloyd-Jones wrote the Jesus Storybook Bible so everyone young and old would reverence and develop a adoring heart for God and his son Jesus.

I love this book it has a great message and reinforces all that I want my children to know about God and His plan for us. The only thing that takes away from it (and it's not a big deal) is that sometimes the story makes a statement that counters the bigger theme of the book. For example in the story of Joseph it states that 'Joseph was a dream expert' rather than saying he wasn't an expert but cried out to God and God answered him. Not a huge thing as I was able to explain this to my kids but still a shame as it's quite an important aspect of the Christian's life and relationship with God; namely that we are NOT experts but if we call out to God He will answer us because He loves us and wants to guide us. All that said and done we and our kids love this book. Great illustrations too. I heartily recommend it.

The Jesus Storybook Bible is the 1st kids Bible my son couldn't put down. It not only keeps true to the stories of Scriptures, but the author adds an element of "real life" in her writing as well as a thread of how the Old Testament leads toward Jesus and the New Testament continues the story. Great layout, Great art. Great flow.

We gave 6 of them out as Christmas gifts this year if that says anything.

Another one we found about 3 or 4 months later was The 1st Message (kids version of the Message Bible). Also very, very good. Both of these are musts if you want your kid to do more than just read stories from the Bible. These Bibles help our kids process that Jesus wants to know them and do life with them daily, and that what He did for us is bigger than a Sunday religion.

People (particularly Dads) are often looking for help in leading family Bible reading. Personally, I am also always trying to look for ways to be innovative and inject creative but not less than biblical means into our family reading.

This becomes particularly challenging when we are talking about little kids, in my case little girls (ages 3 & 6). We have been reading The Jesus Storybook Bible as a bit of a supplement to our family reading and I have to say I have been quite impressed. The subtitle of the book says it all "Every Story Whispers His Name." The author endeavors to connect the respective narrative to the big picture of the Bible, specifically how the story relates to the big story of Christ and his glory.

I have found the illustrations to be pretty engaging for the kids, they are just...different enough to make them stare and think. The respective stories are well written and, I have found, God-Centered. Whereas I have previously recommended The Big Picture Story Bible, for ages 0-4, The Jesus Storybook Bible has proven to be a valuable resource for ages 4 and up. This may be a good gift for parents with kids in this age group, grandparents, or for folks without kids who frequently babysit kids this age.

The Jesus Storybook Bible is marvelous. It is filled with lots of colorful pictures and the stories are fun and easy to understand for old and young alike, yet they uphold the truth of the Bible.

This Bible does not have every story, but it need not in order to serve its purpose. We have been reading through it most nights with my nearly 4-year old twin sons, and they're really interested. The artwork, too, is beautiful.

We read about Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac the other night, and it was amazing watching the light bulbs go off in their heads, helping them to understand Jesus' sacrifice better. That's the way this story Bible is - frames the story just right so curious kids can ask the right questions.

I heartily recommend this for anyone looking for a story Bible for young children (3-8?) that doesn't treat it like a book of stories or moral lessons, but rather, at its heart, pointing to Jesus.

This little book is one of the best presentations of the story of the Bible I've ever seen. Good for children but even better for adults who just want to get a simple overview of what the core message of the Bible is really all about.

Sorry to be negative, in the light of 54 five-star reviews, but this book should be treated with caution.

I was very excited about this book at first, especially to see it recommended by Tim Keller, whose preaching I have found so helpful. However, there is much in this book that is seriously wrong.

To summarise, sin, obedience and judgement are minimised. Sin is defined as `believing the lie that God doesn't love you' which is not a biblical definition. It is not the case that men and women have questioned that God really loves them, and so they have decided to go it alone. It is not the case that God is simply trying to reassure us that He does really love us and we should all come back to Him. It is actually the case that men and women say, `Stuff God's love for us! Who cares? We hate God and don't want Him! We want to be God!' This is how revolting and gross sin really is, and that is what makes God's grace so utterly amazing, that He would want to redeem us, rescue us from just punishment which we deserve and He demands.

Here are some detailed remarks, if you have the time!

p12 God is LOVE - 'God wrote, "I love you" - He wrote it in the sky ... to make our hearts sing' [contrast the Bibles' view of what we see written in the sky and the earth]
[this is true/helpful BUT it is also a PART only of the truth. Like with most unbalanced or heretical things, you MUST 'read the gaps']

p14 LAW is minimised and reduced to utilitarianism: "the rules show you how life works best" [contrast - and note the absence of - the Bible's view of God's authority and character + man's obligation towards him]

pp7,10,11,17 by contrast look very good

p30 TEMPTATION is identified and defined as "wondering: Does God love me?"; SIN is identified and defined as a 'terrible lie which whispers, "God doesn't love ME"'
Read this page carefully. They did not disobey - they did not transgress a command - they did not lust or long or display pride. There is not even an ACTIVE verb: simply a PASSIVE entering - NOT even specifically into them - but "into the world", this lie "came". Adam didn't do anything. Eve didn't do anything. They were not responsible. It just came ... and it was 'just' a lie about love [nothing about God's rights and dues from man]. Now if that isn't bad theology and doesn't hit us between the eyes, are we awake??

p33 Exceptionally, there is a contrast here: there IS mention of "broken the one rule". However, the author does not want our mind to SETTLE on this truth, but to quickly take us off onto the subjective again, NOTE: "they HADN'T JUST broken the one rule - they had broken GOD'S HEART". The emphasis on broken relationship is a helpful corrective to a non-relational/mechanistic style of theology, but this emphasis must never replace the emphasis God has PUT THERE in the passage.
You are reading here an aspect of an interpretation of a Bible truth - now of course children and adults will like this as this is the MOST PALETABLE aspect of the truth. The harder aspects emphasised in the Gen.3 text are all sidelined. This is therefore a serious issue.

p34 repeats the PASSIVE entry of sin: "sin had come ... IT would never leave". Now we look again for a definition of SIN on this page. What are we served up?:

"God's children would always be running away from Him" ... "Their hearts would break and their hearts would not work properly" "They are living in such pain" ... and what of the retribution due for this sad crime?!!?: protection!! God concludes: "There's only one way I can protect them" !! Of course kids love it.

You walk away and feel sad - your heart breaks - and God is INCAPABLE of allowing you to feel pain ["God couldn't let his children live in such pain ..."] so he did what any self-respecting God would do and was 'nice' to them, "PROTECT"ing them every step of the way. Now of course all this is lovely and in its place, if we know-what-she-means, it is rather true and rather lovely, BUT it is NOT the [balance/emphasis of the] message of the Bible.

SIN has been identified and confused with both its consequences & its punishment. In the Bible you have SIN and you have RETRIBUTION. In this you find both human and divine AGENCY and RESPONSIBILITY. In our author's eyes, man experiences sin - the cause and the consequences being the same: you are away from God and you and he are heart-sick. Having foolishly wandered away, the corollary is to expect you can wander back once you realise God DOES love you after all. What a lovely message! I expect folk will buy that in droves.

p33 God's response is that he gets a stomach-ache or something. "A terrible pain came into God's heart". "they had broken God's heart". Yes God does have 'nice feelings'. Everything about God is [in the proper sense of the world] 'nice', but it is not this-sort-of 'nice'. He is all goodness, all holiness, all-powerful. SO, e.g. His holiness is all-loving; his wisdom is all-powerful. But our author demurs from allowing that his love is all-holy. His actions are all-righteous. This we are not allowed to know. This is the heresy gap in this issue.

further e.g's at random:

p212f Note the deletion of all the rational and logical reasons for following Jesus highlighted in Mark's gospel. What are we served up?: "they couldn't explain it" ... "but something" ... "when they looked at Jesus" ... "their hearts were filled" ... What is this? This is mysticism. Indefinable niceness in Jesus which just makes you all gooey and you can't help ignoring your fish. Now, as ever, I bet there WAS a wonderful and perfect somewhat-indefinable 'wonderfulness' about just a 'look' from the saviour ... BUT this is not the message of MY bible. It is her message but it is not MINE.

p214 Jairus finds Jesus in the TEMPLE (cf. Mk5, Jn 8) - I didn't think he did ??

p220 "He was making the sad things come untrue". I think this is rather more vague than my bible.

p228 Title "The Singer" - unsure why this title is there, but am concerned that's what she thinks Jesus is doing, namely "singing a love song"

p235 ... here comes the song: "It was the song all of God's creation had sung to him from the very beginning. It was the song people's hearts were made to sing:
GOD MADE US - GOD LOVES US - HE IS VERY PLEASED WITH US [that's news to us evangelicals, surely!!]
It was WHY JESUS HAD COME INTO THE WORLD: TO SING THEM THAT WONDERFUL SONG; to sing it not only with his voice, but with his whole life - so that God's children could REMEMBER it and JOIN IN and sing it too"

This is far-out way-off-the-mark liberalism. This is not the gospel. This is utter LIES. It is so far off being true to the gospel that I cannot call it less. It is a LIE.

The consequences of her view of SIN come out here. You have just FORGOTTEN that GOD LOVES YOU. Result??: ALL you have to do is just REMEMBER again. You've forgotten the love-song of all mother-earth; don't fret: Jesus came to SING it again .... and now you can "join in and sing it, too"

If every page of a book was like this, Evangelicals would have the sense not to touch it, but you also have contrasting pages like page 301: "for this reason I came into the world", with the helpful comment, "It was God's plan".

I think this is [the predictably sad and repeated case of] selling a book to a wide audience: it's a book which looks BOTH liberal and EVANGELICAL. It is clever enough that both groups will buy it and like it.

p292 promises a "Forever Happiness that won't ever leave". I think she means the "peace" promised in John 14. The choice of words is I think unwise.

p294 Note the PASSIVE approach to sin again in the last para.: Jesus was to take "the blame for everything that HAD GONE wrong". Requirement, [dis-]obedience, responsibility, culpability, accountability - all are DEAD for this author. It's ALL about warm or broken hearts and 'songs'

p296 The identifying and confounding SIN with CONSEQUENCES (per Gen.3) appears again here: "WHEN people ran away from God, they LOST God - it WAS WHAT happened WHEN they ran away. Not being close to God WAS LIKE a punishment". [Note the utter absence in her theology of,"man did this SO God did THAT"]
Such is her hatred of the doctrine of punishment that she de-bunks it, saying that what is true and real and important [namely that SIN and its consequences are IDENTICAL (no 'agency' being involved)] is LIKE a punishment, but is not ACTUALLY ["God forbid"!!] a REAL punishment. This again is a major departure from truth and faithfulness to the gospel.

Compare page 169 [Jonah]: "Even though you 'run from' God (cf. p347), he CAN'T STOP loving You (=p331)". God has a one-track personality that can't stop loving ... well, YES, but also, NO. My God is BIGGER than that. Her view is reductionist: God is ONLY, irreducibly, inevitably LOVE, unsullied by other bible-truths.

There IS NO punishment ... and the nearest thing you can imagine to such an unthinkable thing is that you have walked away from perfect love. BEWARE BEWARE. It sounds SO SO appealing.

p317 "Was God really making everything sad come untrue (even death)??" - I don't think this is clear enough to be easily able to be reckoned to be properly 'true'.
[=p220 =p321]

p323 [The great commission]. Just compare what's here with Matt 28:18 and READ THE GAPS ! There is a refusal to use the word "obey" (generally) throughout the whole book (cf. disciples/teaching them to obey ...). [Compare p329 (+ p30 above already) - there is no such thing as disobedience, but rather "the poison and the terrible lie and the SICKNESS in their hearts" (which is solved by "You are my child and I love you" p329).

I fear this is a liberal book with evangelical glosses. I sense that perhaps the author and her editor have very different theologies and this book was a compromise OR it is aimed at SELLING WELL.

There are some ASPECTS (helpful) of truth in this book. But it will do much harm if children are raised on it.

The best Bible story book I have ever read. I will read it often for myself, and send it to all new parents.

My 16-month daughter is too young to sit through these wordy (for her) pages. But I can't wait to share these stories with her. The way that every story points to Jesus is incredible, and the illustrations are just right. If this book doesn't become a bedtime favorite when my daughter is a few years older, I'll be shocked. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the book myself. Just beautiful!

This book truly touches me and makes me feel closer to the Lord when we read it. My children are very attentive to this book and it helps give them understanding, while also making them more curious--- To me that is everything...for them to have a hunger for more. I am so thankful I found this book!

I really like this book. My daughters, ages 5 and 7, enjoyed reading it, and I love the way it shows how the Old Testament points toward Jesus. In fact, there were a few "a-ha! I get it!" moments from ME, as well...you know a kids book is good when an adult can get something out of it as well!

I also liked that the illustrations are charming without being cutesy. Too many kids' Bible storybooks have really cheesy art.

This book tells the truth about the Bible's nature - it is all one story pointing to Christ. It doesn't dumb down Bible stories into fables or nursery rhymes, but speaks relevantly to children in a voice that is easy to understand.
I found out about this book and bought it for my wife and I to read it to our children, whenever that comes. The truth is, we both have been reading it a lot ourselves. It's great and the artwork is wonderful. I especially love John the Baptist. Hilarious and pretty much how I picture him.

This book tells the truth about the Bible's nature - it is all one story pointing to Christ. It doesn't dumb down Bible stories into fables or nursery rhymes, but speaks relevantly to children in a voice that is easy to understand.
I found out about this book and bought it for my wife and I to read it to our children, whenever that comes. The truth is, we both have been reading it a lot ourselves. It's great and the artwork is wonderful. I especially love John the Baptist. Hilarious and pretty much how I picture him.

Nothing beats reading the stories from the REAL storybook, the Bible, but this paraphrase of key stories is very well done. I recently bought it to use with my Kindergarten class and was impressed at how these tenderly-told renditions touched ME. The only variance I found from the biblcal accounts was in the story where Jacob marries Leah and Rachel and was VERY slight. The storybook makes it sound as if he had to wait an additional 7 years to marry Rachel after he married Leah. The Genesis account says that he was allowed to marry her and THEN worked another seven years. This was a GREAT read and I highly recommend it.

I'm a father of three and a pastor. Every time I read a story book Bible to my kids I'm left with trying to connect the little story to the big story, the small narrative to the metanarrative. I, not my kids, read this book cover to cover and couldn't put it down . . . I'm not kidding. This is a book for every person to read not just kids. All the stories, characters, and rules point to Jesus, the Hero or Rescuer!

This Bible is broken down into stories yet leaves nothing out as some other Bible story books might. In fact "every story whispers His name" is the perfect way to describe this book - each story is written to reflect how every situation and story in the Old & New Testament points to Jesus the Messiah. Amazing illustrations, beautifully woven and magically insightful writing. I jumped the gun and bought a copy for my son although he's not even 2 years old! I want everyone I know and love to have a copy of this!

I bought this for my godson but reading it ended up being a gift for me! This is so helpful for children but also for adults. The story is beautifully written and illustrated and presents the story of the bible simply but without losing any potency. I would recommend this to believers and nonbelievers alike.

I got this book for my daughters who are 5 and 4. They have enjoyed it immensely as have my husband and I. We are learning from it too. Every story does point to Jesus and our need for a savior and to be rescued as God promises. Every child from 2-12 on my Christmas list will be getting this book for Christmas! A few adults may get it too! It really is enjoyable for all ages.

This Bible is absolutely amazing and we have so many children's Bible I cannot count them all. This one is different. It's one long story instead of a hundred jumbled stories. Each part of the story points back to God's goodness, and His greatness, and His plan, and HIs love. It's not about "Bible Heroes" or "Feeling Good" or "Self Esteem" or "Bible Facts." This is the entire Gospel Message of God's plan of salvation and Love through the history of the World as related by the BIble. You should buy this book, if there is any possible way for you to do so.

The Jesus Storybook Bible is a must read for everyone! It is not just for kids. I have learned something from every story I have read, and the Bible has always been a part of my life.

The author takes stories from both the Old Testament and the New Testament and shows how the story of Jesus is weaved throughout the entire Bible. Her storytelling ability is so rich. She truly touches your heart with her words and causes you to want to draw closer to God.

The author effectively conveys the evidence of God's redemptive love for all people and His plan to bring us back to Himself through Jesus.

The illustrations are wonderful, as well. The writing and the pictures work so well together. The illustrations are so colorful and full of feeling, they truly add to the story, rather than distracting the reader.

I highly recommend this book. I know that we will be reading it over and over in our home.

I bought this for my grandson's first Easter. It's beautifully written, and it holds his attention - quite a feat for a toddler.